To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the same (a) criteria and (b) decision-making process was used to determine whether there would be an extension of the teachers’ pay grant to (i) 16-19 academies and (ii) sixth form colleges; for what reasons the teachers’ pay grant was not extended to sixth form colleges; if he will make it his policy to extend the teachers’ pay grant to sixth form colleges; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
16 October 2018
The school teachers’ pay grant provides financial support to maintained schools (including 16-19 maintained schools). They must follow the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document to help them implement the pay award. We confirmed that we would mirror the grant so that it covers all academies, including 16 -19 academies.
However, the further education (FE) sector, including sixth form colleges, has a different legal status and relationship to the government when compared with academies, and this needs to be taken into account in making decisions. Sixth form colleges are private sector institutions, independent of government. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for the government to extend funding to them that is intended to support a specific pay deal for school teachers.
We recognise that the FE sector faces cost pressures. This is why we have been actively engaging with the sector to look closely at how we fund providers, in order to ensure that the system supports sustainable, high-quality education. We have also been actively engaging with the FE sector to understand the specific challenges and opportunities for FE teacher recruitment and retention. We will consider these in our work going forward including in the Spending Review.